Salzburg, Austria

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

A 12 hour bus ride got us to Salzburg, Austria. Most known as the home of Mozart and The Sound of Music, this city is probably one of the most underrated in Europe. Once we arrived, we checked into our very posh Mercure Hotel (thanks, JMU), and I went out exploring with some of the guys. First thing to note: it was cold (if you know me, you know I HATE the cold) and it sucked. Second thing to note: It was gorgeous! The city was nestled right up against the cliffs of the Austrian Alps, and on top of the cliffs is the Fortress. It was breathtaking!

In the morning, we got up, at a spectacular continental breakfast, and went to meet our guides for a walking tour. It was snowing. A three hour walking tour… in the snow. “Kill me” was all that was going through my mind. Fortunately, our guide was hilarious and highly entertaining. She was also pretty good at getting us into warm cathedrals, trams, and other buildings just when I thought I was going to freeze to death. We saw plenty of sites where the Sound of Music was filmed, the fortress (amazing views of the city), Mozart’s house and birthplace, and plenty of good shopping and cute cafes (too tempting!).

After the walking tour, a couple of us went around shopping (see: window shopping), and hanging out in the city. Our first stop was Café Tomaselli for some hot chocolate to warm us up. Later, we stopped and got “Bretzels” at a stand, and also went to Demel Café for cake and tea, mmm. We headed back to the hotel earlier than necessary and caught a nap (in the most comfortable beds, ever!) before dinner. Coach Kelly led us off into the city for dinner at Die Weisse, a brewery (thanks jmu), where we each got a beer and Weiner Schnitzel. It was delicious! We also had Salzburg’s apple Strudel.

The next day, we were suppose to go to Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s private getaway, but it was closed due to bad weather, so we had a free day. I spent the day relaxing, and doing a whole lot of nothing. We tried to go see the largest ice caves in the world, but they were also closed by the time we got around to it. At night, we went out to Augustiner Bier Huis, where we got to experience firsthand, the party that is a beer house. We got liter beers and schnitzel sandwiches and pretzels. It was quite the experience!